If it was up to most kids, PB&J sandwiches would be on the menu almost
every lunch hour.

And for those parents who find it hard to get creative with their kids’
lunches, there is a new tool available that you won’t find in your kitchen that
will help get the job done faster.

A North Vancouver entrepreneur has made it possible for schools to put
together four months worth of delicious noontime meals in five minutes.

“Every parent breathes a big sigh when it comes to making lunches,” says
Barbara Talbot, founder of MunchALunch, an online hot lunch ordering
system for elementary and high school students. “I think we all look forward
to a break from it.”

If your child’s school is a participating member of the program, you can
simply visit the school’s website and find the link for MunchALunch.

Schools decide which local food suppliers they wish to use, and put the
menus and pricing online for ordering. Schools usually offer plenty of
choices including wraps, sandwiches, pizza, hamburgers, and pasta.
There are also healthy snacks and drinks that can be offered to supplement
these meals such as oatmeal cookies, fruit salad, and milk.

The average cost of an entire meal is approximately $6. Currently parents
pay for their orders by cheque, however online payments will be available
in January 2010.

“Proceeds from lunch programs go directly back to the school PAC to help fund
much-needed school programs and equipment,” explains Talbot. “Munch helps
schools maximize these proceeds.” To help schools even more, there are also talks
of a free Fundraising add-on that will be introduced in 2011.

Traditionally, elementary school lunch programs are paper-based systems that
are labour intensive for both the school lunch coordinators and the parents
themselves, says Talbot.

“Ordering online eliminates the need for paper order forms and avoids
calculation errors,” she said. “Instead of lunch coordinators spending
hours with paper forms, they can now generate all reports at the click
of a button.”

Perhaps one of the most important benefits of the online ordering system is
how it handles allergy concerns. Because the data is in a centrally located
place, both the school lunch coordinators and the food vendors work with the
exact same information.

“The allergy note ends up on a label that the food vendor sees,” says
Talbot.

There are currently 75 schools from across the Lower Mainland on board with
MunchALunch. According to Talbot, the plan is to attract more schools from
not only B.C. but also the rest of Canada to this program.

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